Fastening device for gates.



UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

WALTER K. VOORHEES, OF CEDAR FALLS, IO'WA, ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD MANUFAC-TUBING COMPANY, OF CEDAR FALLS, IOWA, A CORPORATION OF IOWA.

FASTENING DEVICE FOR GATES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 13, 1918.

Application filed July 30, 1917. Serial No. 183,507.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER K. VooRHnns, a citizen of the United Statesof America, and a resident of Cedar Falls, Blackhawk county, Iowa, haveinvented-certain new and useful Improvements in Fastening Devices forGates, of which the following is a' specification.

My inventionrelates to improvements in fastening means for gates, andthe object of my improvement is to supply a doubly engaginglocking-device for a gate, operable from either side thereof, and whoselocking means are suitably mounted and controlled to always be preparedfor actuation.

This object I have accomplished by the means which are hereinafterdescribed and claimed, and which are illustrated in the'accompanyingdrawings, in Which Figure lis an elevation of a gate equipped with myimproved fastening means; Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail side elevation ofsa1d fastening means, with parts broken away; Fig. 3 is an elevation ofsaid fastening means, taken at a right angle to said Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is aplan view of the upper locking set of said fastening means,and Fig. 5.is a view of the several parts, in perspective, of the lockmg device asdemounted and disassembled from each other.

' Similar numerals of reference denote cor responding parts throughoutthe several views.

InFig. 1 is shown a gate of an ordinary flexible type, composed of frontand rear stiles 12 and 20, connected at thelr upper and lower ends bymeans of longitudinal bars 23 and hinge-connections 27, said stiles andbars being tubular but may be of any other suitable forms.

The rear stile 20 has hinge-connections 22 to a rear post 21. The stilesmay be connected by a flexible wire netting 25. A slidable clamp 26 maybe mounted upon the lower part of the front stile 12, and connected byside wires 24 tothe upper part of the rear stile 20, whereby the gatemay be flexibly adjusted by raising or loweringits forward end. i 1 1 Onthe front post 19 is bracketed a relatively long offset rod 13 adjacentand parallel to the front stile 12.

Duplicate sets of locking-devices are mounted upon said front stileopposite said upright rod 13. Each of these lockingdevices comprises thefollowing associated parts, shown disassembled in Fig. 5 in the samerelative order in which they are mounted upon the front stile:

The numeral 1 denotes a sleeve having on opposite sides depending pairsof lugs2 and at its top a semi-circular flange 3, the latter providing,engaging-means for a purpose to be described. A single coil spring 1encircles the stile, mounted on the half circle flange 3,. and anorificed locking clip 5 rests upon said spring, said clip having a fork6, as also oppositely-placed orificed studs 7. The numeral 8 denotesanother sleeve, of a size adapting it topass downwardly through thecentral opening of the locking-clip 5, which it engages by an annularfillet or flange 9 on its upper end, the sleeve 8 passing down throughthe firstmentioned sleeve 1. Said sleeve 8 has transverse orifices whichregister with the interspaces of said pairs of lugs 2, to receive a bolt10, which latter traverses orifices in the stile 12, and is secured by anut 11. These duplicate locking devices are mounted on said front stileat a suitable distance apart opposite said catch-rod 13.

Referring now to said Figs. 2 to 4, inclusive, the numeral 18 denotes apair of vertical rods whose lower ends are passed downwardly through theorifices in the bosses 7 of the lowermost locking-clip 5' and have theirlower extremities swaged or spread to prevent their escape upwardly fromthe clip. The upper part of each rod 18 is obliquely offset outwardly at17 and 16, then bent horizontally inwardly at 14, then bent intodepending tip 15 which is mounted slidably to rock in the orifice of aboss 7 on the uppermost locking-clip 5.

This offset part of the rod 18 serves as a finger-hold for 'manualoperation thereof, while its depending tip 15 acts 1n engaging theradially directed stop part of the semicircular flange3 on the sleeve 1when the most clip 5 to disengage the lower stop 3, 7

when the gate may be swung open in the operation causing the forks 6 ofthe clips 5 to be engaged by and moved by the catchrod 13 to one side,leaving the forks di rected obliquely in an appropriate position toengage and reinclose the catch-rod when the gate is swung back to closeit.

Since the locking-clip 5 is mounted to rock upon the sleeve 1, unlesscontrolled suitably to leave it in a certain position, when the gate isswung open and is then kept in said position, it will, by reason of itsinertia, move farther than necessary, and thus, when the gate is swungback, probably not be in a position to properly engage and reinclose thecatch-rod 13.

I have successfully overcome this defect in operation by the insertionof the spring 4 under and engaging the clip 5, and which exercises africtional tension upon said clip, which counteracts its inertia, andkeeps it in its proper position where left after the gate is swungoutwardly, so that when the gate is returned, the fork 6 will always beready to engage and reinclose the catch-rod 13, and the lifted one ofthe latch-rods 18 will then drop as its depending tip 15 rides off thesemi-circular flange 3, to be reengaged and interlocked with the stoppart thereof.

The connecting of the two locking-clips 5 by the offset-rods 18 enablesthe clips to work simultaneously in engaging or disengaging the stops,and in swinging to or from the catch-rod 13.

The numeral 29 denotes a loop-shaped stop mounted adjustably on thecatch-rod 13 immediately above the lower locking-clip 5, and whosemembers are secured on the red by a bolt 30 and nut 31, and limitsupward movement of the gate relative to said. rod so that animals cannotpush it upwardly from a certain position.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is:

1. In combination, in gate fastening means, a support, a forked cliprotatably mounted on said support, stops mounted on said support,fastening-means movably mounted on said clip and adapted for de tachableengagement with said stops, and yieldable resilient means contactingwith and exercising pressure against said clip to overcome the inertiaof the latter when moved in either direction.

2. In combination in gate fastening means, a fixed upright standard, agate stile adapted to swing to and from said standard,

a sleeve fixed on said stile having oppositelylocatcd stops, a forkedclip rotatably mounted on said stile above said stops, a compressionspring engaged between said sleeve and said clip, means for limitingthe. longitudinal movement of said clip along the stile away from saidspring, and catches mounted on said clip, adapted to be engaged withsaid stops to prevent rotation of the clip, or be singly disengaged topermit rotation of the clip in one direction.

3. In combination in gate fastening means, a support, forked clipslongitudinally spaced apart on said support and rotatably mountedthereon, stops longitudinally spaced apart onsaid support and fixedlymounted thereon, and a fastening rod having its upper part offset withits extremity depending into movable engagementwith the upper clip andin detachable engagement with the upper stop, and having its lower endpositioned in movable engagement with the lower clip and in detachableengagement with the lower stop.

4:. In combination in gate fastening means, a support, orificed forkedclips lon gitudinally spaced apart on said support, and rotatablymounted thereon, stops longitudinally spaced apart on said support andfixedly mounted thereon in juxtaposition to said clips, and a fasteningrod having its upper part offset with its extremity depending through anorifice in the upper clip to detachably engage the upper stop, the lowerend of said rod passing through an orifice in the lower clip todetacha'bly engage the lower stop, the said lower end being enlarged toprevent its escape from said lower clip.

5. In combination in gate fastening means, a support, forked clipshaving orifices on opposite sides of the support, said clips beinglongitudinally spaced apart on said support and rotatably mountedthereon, fixed stops on opposite sides of said support underneath saidclips, and fastening rods, each rod having its upper part offset andprovided with a depending tip movable through one of the orifices in theupper clip into detachable engagement with one of the upper stops, thelower extremity of each rod passing movably through one of the orificesin the lower clip into detachable engagement with the lower stop.

Signed at Waterloo, Iowa, this 25th day of July, 1917.

\VALTER K. VOORHEES.

copies at this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Yatents.

Washington, D. C.

